Violence in Schools & Legal Liability
Physical, psychological, and sexual violence at schools occurs more often than parents want to imagine. The scars of an incident or pattern of violence can last for a long time, affecting the overall health of a child in ways that may not be immediately visible. While it is not easy to predict when a child will harm another child, certain factors may make a child more likely to engage in violence. These include:
- Past history of violence
- Substance abuse
- Mental health conditions
- Low level of academic performance
- Friendships with other children who commit violence
- Domestic violence in the child’s family
- Lack of adult role models in the child’s life
- Access to weapons
If parents or other people interacting with a child notice signs of violent behavior, they should report their concerns to school officials. For example, a child who seems fascinated with weapons or violence, harms animals, or starts threatening other children may pose a risk. Any problems with managing emotions may warrant attention. An adult also should follow up on signs that a child may have experienced school violence. In addition to physical injuries, these may include anxiety, depression, self-isolation, or any uncharacteristic behaviors.
Claims Based on School Violence
Schools have a duty to take reasonable measures to prevent students from committing violence while they are on school property during school hours or engaged in school activities. If a school fails to meet this duty, and a child suffers foreseeable injuries as a result, their parents may be able to sue the school for compensation. For example, if a school received a credible report that a student posed a risk of violence, but the school took no action, it may be liable if that student assaults another student. These cases are very fact-specific and require a thorough investigation.
If parents succeed in holding a school liable for injuries to their child, they can recover damages for all of the costs that resulted. These may include hospital bills and therapy costs, among others. Future damages may be recovered if a child suffers long-lasting effects from the violence. While experiencing violence is traumatic for anyone, it may be especially traumatic for a child. A lawsuit can recover compensation for a child’s pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other non-economic forms of harm.
Violence by School Employees
Although school violence generally involves children harming other children, some situations involve school staff abusing children, such as when a teacher sexually assaults a student. In these cases, parents likely will have a claim against the perpetrator of the abuse. Even if the perpetrator is never convicted of a crime based on the same conduct, a personal injury claim still may succeed. The standard of proof in civil cases is much lower than the standard of proof in criminal cases, making it easier to prove liability.
However, most individual perpetrators will not have enough funds to fully compensate a family for injuries to a child. Parents sometimes may bring a claim against a school under a theory such as negligent hiring or retention. For example, perhaps the school failed to conduct thorough background checks when hiring an employee, which should have alerted the school to a history of violence, sexual misconduct, or other behavior that would make the employee unfit to work with children. Or perhaps the school did not properly respond to warning signs of potential misconduct by an employee. If a school failed to investigate reports that a teacher made inappropriate overtures to female students, for example, the school might be liable if that teacher sexually assaults a student.
